Ndebele woman, Pilgrim s Rest, South Africa.

Editorial Stock Photo

The Ndebele are part of the larger Nguni ethnic group. They are thought to have travelled from Natal to the Transvaal region, led by a chief called Musi and settling near Pretoria in about 1600. In the mid-seventeenth century, the nation split over a succession dispute between his two sons, Manala and Ndzundza.